ButterflyFairy
[ ButterflyFairy ] held her breath and stopped the movement of her wings. She dropped like a stone of the sky.
She saw more arrows pass but by a wider breadth, she must have been dropping too fast for them to take aim, just what she wanted. When she reached roof level she began to beat her wings wildly, ‘[ Calico Tiger ] isn't going to be happy about this' she thought to herself as she swung into action. She judged that the source was two streets away so she flew in-between the buildings lower than was safe, there was no one to run into anyways. Fear had them cowering indoors or out of town. Elftown was a shadow of its former self, it disgusted her.
The scouts rode in packs like wolves, but they were disorganised and not battle trained which gave [ ButterflyFairy ] the upper hand. In the Elfwood forest, Sylphs being the most vulnerable of all the elementals had to be the most nimble to survive the curious and nefarious.
She listened for the sounds of hoofs and the screams of battle that accompanied the rowdy scouts. They gave away their position to the enemy, but that didn't seem to bother them since they thought the mandate from Lilo gave them free reign. [ ButterflyFairy ] grabbed a piece of wood with one hand from a broken down wagon as she flew past, while tying the stem of the chalice to her belt.
She heard the scouts up ahead and slowed down to let them get pass. She quickened her pace and came up behind them flying a little higher to get a head count. Seven wasn't a bad number, she was out of practice but she could still take them on without help.
She flew past the last rider and smacked his head with the piece of wood, his helmet came loose. Flying backwards she smashed it into his face disfiguring it. He fell limp and off his saddle.
She recovered his bow and quiver then noted the string wasn't as taut as she was accustomed. She would settle for less in this case, after all a beggar can't choose. She removed an arrow and jabbed the next rider in the back, which made him turn in surprise. She stuck it square into his disbelieving eye, extracting a pained scream from his throat.
His companions turned to see the arrow sticking out of his eye socket and no assailant in sight. Two riders slowed down to help him while the other three rode ahead and right into the arrows of [ ButterflyFairy ]. She wasted no time in dispatching them sending a volley of arrows into their chests sparing the mounts.
They fell with heavy thuds as their mounts rode on without them. The commotion caught the attention of the last two who turned on her rage on their faces. ‘Nothing better than an angry opponent' she thought to herself, ‘they tend to have poor judgement'.
They rode forward faster and faster, eating up the distance with the hovering fairy in their sights, with one thing on their minds – death.
[ ButterflyFairy ] waited as they rode hard in her direction, she was breathing hard from all the flying. She was definitely out of practice she reflected. At the last moment when they raised their swords to strike her she darted up into the air, followed by their confused stares. They looked forward too late to see the alyt vine she had tied across the street.
The last scouts lay in the streets their heads no far from where they had fallen. She landed in front of an abandoned bakery and looked at her reflection in the dirty windows. She looked unruffled enough, satisfied she untied the chalice and looked to the sky; the storm was right over head and about burst releasing its bounty.
She flew skywards once more, this time alert for anymore scouts and gleaned the first few drops, just as it began to pour. She made it to the new sanctuary a little damp but satisfied.
“Why did it take you so long”, [ Calico Tiger ] asked her as she came down the stairs.
“I was tied up”; she answered putting the other ingredients into the chalice her back to everyone in the room.
“Tied up?”
“I ran into Lilo's minions”, she said kneeling next to [ Lerune ]. “The street where the old bakery was is going to stink for a while”, she added smiling.
“I told you to be careful”; [ Calico Tiger ] said raising her voice. “How did they see you?”
“I had to speed up the storm”. She replied in defence, a grin on her face.
“[ peura ] could you give me a hand cleaning up her mess.”
Leaving dead Lilo's scouts dead in the streets attracted attention to the remnant of efltown, which [ Calico Tiger ] could do without.
However, [ ButterflyFairy ] and [ peura ] didn't appreciate the quiet life and longed for adventure, which they sought out without fail to the annoyance of the Captain.
[ peura ] suppressed the urge to grin and followed [ Calico Tiger ] out of the room. Momentarily she stuck her head back into the room and said “You should have told me you were off to have some fun” then winked.
[ Calico Tiger ] and [ peura ] walked through the streets for a short while and then came to the site of the massacre. She doubted [ ButterflyFairy ] was alone when she sent them off without dinner. She had asked [ testhedda ] once why [ ButterflyFairy ] was not a guard, after seeing this it was little wonder she wasn't.
“Remind me not to get on her bad side” [ Calico Tiger ] said to [ peura ] who promptly burst into laughter. [ Calico Tiger ] glanced at her and got to work mumbling something about the joke being at her expense.
They had being at it for less than an hour when they heard foot falls some ways away. [ Calico Tiger ] pointed and [ peura ] went to see who it was. She returned a while later and reported that [ Elisandra ] and her brigade where en route to the Great Hall. The sedition was staging a coup and by their numbers they were going to succeed.
[ Calico Tiger ] and [ peura ] hurried back to the sanctuary to get the others; perhaps they would be able to quell the plot. They entered to find [ ButterflyFairy ] and [ Lerune ] doubled over, laughing hysterically, as [ All_Most PUNK ] sat in the corner smiling to himself.
[ Calico Tiger ] broke the up the party with the news and they made ready. On their way [ Lerune ] explained to [ Calico Tiger ] and [ peura ] what had happened to [ All_Most PUNK ] at [ Mordigen ]'s. in turn [ peura ] told [ All_Most PUNK ] what Elftown in this realm had become.
“The scoundrel with the skull head on his coat of arms made his personal business to do away with the Council as you know it. He poisoned the mind of Lilo to get to [ testhedda ].”
[ All_Most PUNK ] had to digest every thing slowly. [ testhedda ] had become evil, and Lilo was a brunette, with a thirst for blood who now controlled Elftown, leaving [ testhedda ] just a figure head.
Citizens of Elftown who couldn't take the oppression had left; those who could - lived in fear.
Elftown had a Noon curfew that explained the deserted streets just before dusk.
“What are we going to do?” [ All_Most PUNK ] asked wondering what the five could do against the twenty man strong brigade that [ Elisandra ] had put together.
“She has to follow the lay down laws of elftown in taking over, what we have to do is make sure she has enough bottlenecks to give her a headache and maybe stop her madness before it goes too far.”
“This is a nightmare”, [ All_Most PUNK ] whispered under his breath.
“Incidentally” declared [ Lerune ], remembering the circumstances in which he was dragged into all this.
They went into the Great hall through one of the side doors. It surprised them that it was unguarded. They walked softly through the corridors of power that once meant more than just the authority it implied. They came to the chambers of [ Nita ] which was now vacant Lilo having locked her away in the heart of the Elfwood forest never to be heard from again.
The entrance to [ testhedda ]'s chambers was slightly ajar. [ Calico Tiger ] listened and heard papers rustling, she pushed one of the doors open and looked inside to see [ testhedda ] sitting behind his oak table looking through scrolls. She signalled them to follow as she walked into the room and up to him. The others fanned out in the chamber as he looked up to see the intruders.
“Is it boldness or plain stupidity?” He asked looking at the group.
“Perhaps it's both”, she said sitting down opposite him. “You are going to be tried by the laws of Elftown, I have taken the liberty of bringing Council man [ All_Most PUNK ] to represent you.”
[ All_Most PUNK ] looked confused; no one told him he was to defend the mayor.
[ testhedda ] furrowed his brows “Why?”
“Old habits”, she replied smiling.
[ All_Most PUNK ] realized that [ testhedda ] didn't want to be freed from the oppression of Lilo but needed it none the less.
“[ testhedda ]” [ Elisandra ] proclaimed in a loud voice as the doors burst open, “we the people of Elftown charge you with genocide, how do you plead.”
“Not guilty” said Lilo “because he didn't do it”